Saint Roch (c. 1295-1327) was a French pilgrim who tended plague victims in Italy and was himself stricken; he withdrew to a forest where, tradition holds, a dog brought him bread each day and licked his wounds until he recovered. Imprisoned on his return home and unrecognized, he died in captivity. He is invoked against plague and contagious disease.

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• against plague and epidemics
• the sick
• dogs

canonized

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